


Falling for a King

by ixiepixie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, M/M, UKUS, USUK - Freeform, usukustwiceperyear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 18:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12086715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ixiepixie/pseuds/ixiepixie
Summary: Alfred hears a rumor about a beautiful princess and decides to woo her, but not all rumors ring true.





	Falling for a King

**Author's Note:**

> Made for the usukustwiceperyear event on tumblr! Be sure to check it out, a lot of my friends and many more amazing artists and writers put something in! ^^  
>  Enjoy ~☆

The carriage came to a slow stop at the gates of an enormous palace. The wind was chilly as fall had only just begun in this region of the world. Alfred hated the cold, so he tightened his grip on the scarf around his neck, hoping that it would keep out the unwelcome shivering sensations. The driver of his coach called for the gates to be opened, allowing them to progress into the courtyard. Of course, no one knew he was visiting at all. He had snuck away from his own royal guards only hours ago, and was thankful that the driver understood why he wanted to get away.

You see, there had been rumors circulating for about a year now, all centered around the tale of a certain Kingdom having the most beautiful Princess in all the lands. Alfred would be lying if he said he hadn’t been interested by the mere prospect of a princess that was hidden away from the public eye for so long that she was only now catching attention. If the rumors were to be believed, then he had every intention of sweeping said maiden off her feet and making her his Queen.

All of that was great and all, but there was one problem. The rumors had also mentioned that the father of the Princess was a reclusive miser who didn’t want anyone to take his daughter away. Now to be fair, Al knew that not all rumors were true, and all of the citizens of this land seemed to hold their King in very high regard, so Alfred was hopeful that it wouldn’t be too hard to win the heart of the fair lady and convince her father to let him take her. All in one month. Yeah, no way he could fail!

The sound of metallic footsteps drew near the front of the carriage, Alfred peeking out the side to make sure the coast was clear before he pulled on his hood and ran into the gardens. Once he found a place he deemed safe to hide in, he made sure that no one had seen or followed him. His driver had been ordered to distract the guards with a letter from the ‘Prince of Atropa’, stating his intent to visit for political relation talks in exactly one month. Little would the King know that Alfred was actually going to be sneaking into the garden to serenade the Princess every night. This plan was perfect, if he did say so himself.

As the sun began to set, Alfred followed the directions he’d gotten from a palace maid he had generously tipped in exchange for the information. Though she only looked at him funny when he had said he was here to seduce the royals, Alfred had paid her no mind. He hoped that the window she’s mentioned was correct, and not some poor advisor’s chambers. That would be embarrassing and hard to explain. At least the garden was beautiful, even in the chill of early Autumn. He had briefly considered waiting until the Spring to seduce his fair maiden, but reconsidered when he thought of the possibility of other royals and nobles from across the kingdoms wanting to use the season of romance to their own advantage in winning the heart of the Princess. No! He had to be the first! The rumors had been relatively new, and news was slow to spread from one Kingdom to another during the fall and winter months. This was his only chance to act.

The window that he was looking for was said to be the most ornate in the entire palace, so the blue eyed prince made sure to observe each carefully. Finally, after what felt like forever, he arrived at one of the gaudiest looking stained glass windows he’s ever seen in his life. Not even his own castle had anything so colorful and ornate on the outside. It was actually rather beautiful, if a bit much to look at. Almost like one of those windows at the church in his home city. Truly it was the window of a room fit for a Princess of such incredible beauty. It only took a few minutes for Alfred to tune his lute and clear his voice, the sun setting fully beyond the horizon and blanketing the Kingdom of Belladonna in a swath of partial moonlight. It was only a quarter moon tonight, but that was more than enough light when combined with the torches lighting the garden up. 

Softly at first, Alfred began to play his lute, letting the melody rise into the air below the window, hopefully reaching through it. After a moment of musical intro, the blonde began to sing a sweet melody of honeyed words and sweet nothings. It was and old bard song he’s learnt from the court jester when he was little. He sang it to any girl in the castle that would listen, and drove them all mad. That of course meant that it was the perfect song to sing to his future bride, as she would have to be used to him singing it day and night.

After a few minutes passed with no movement, Alfred was almost ready to pack it up for the night, thinking that perhaps his princess had already gone to bed. However, just before he stopped, he could see a silhouette in the colored glass. The latch of the window came undone, and one lovely, yet piercing green eye peeked through the crack. He couldn’t see much else of her though, as the warped and colorful glass made it hard to piece together a perfect image. Going by her eyes alone though, Alfred could already tell that she was the one he was meant to take as his Queen.

Al quickly picked up where he had left off, only now realizing he had been silently staring like a damn creeper. The green eyed beauty never opened the window more than that tiny sliver, but that was enough for now. He had successfully started his plan and nothing could stop him now!

And so began a two week cycle of music at the base of a window, yet in all that time, Alfred never managed to coax the princess farther out of the window. If he could get the fair maiden step outside, it wouldn’t be hard to scale the wall and woo her with his no doubt incredible charms. On the 8th night of his plan, he decided to take a different approach, and came to the window bearing a paper he had taken great care to write. It was a small poem for his beloved, and would hopefully be enough to call her forth.

Unfortunately, the chill was even stronger than usual that night, almost as if it were winter instead of fall. The cold weather had him shivering up a storm, so much so that it was making it hard to begin reading the poem. A curious green eye fell upon him, no doubt noticing that he was not holding his lute this evening. Alfred cleared his throat, then began to speak.

“Oh my star, shining brighter than the moon, how I wish for our love to bloom.  
My dear, my darling, my only light, I want to be your loving knight.   
Though glass now keeps our love at bay, I hope one night you’ll invite me to stay~!   
This is all I ask of thee, would you please open your heart unto me?”

Cheeks burning from embarrassment, Al simply gazed into that singular green eye, awaiting a response. A chilled breeze blew past, making Alfred shiver from the cold, and knocking leaves loose from the nearby trees. It would have looked like an image from a storybook if he hadn’t been shivering so damn much.

A small click caught his attention, directing it once more to the window above him. It had closed, and the princess’ figure was nowhere to be seen. Was that a rejection? Alfred’s heart felt strangely heavy in his chest at the thought. He’s been rejected many times before, of course, but it still always hurt. Dejected, he turned to walk out of the garden. Halfway out, he felt a tug on the back of his scarf and nearly fell over from fright. Had he been caught?? A male voice that sounded rather winded, had him frozen in place.

“You should know better than to dress so lightly at this time of year...”

It didn’t sound like the shrill yet commanding voice of a palace guard, yet it oddly felt as if there was a higher authority behind it. Had he been caught by one of the heads of staff? He was almost too afraid to turn around and see, but willed himself to do so anyway. What he saw had his breath lost and his face pale.

Those eyes. Those shimmering and piercing green eyes that he had dreamed of for the past week were now staring right into his own. Not only that, but they also happened to belong to a man. Said man was slightly shorter than Alfred, but he carried himself as if he were taller, and had eyebrows that might scare off small children, for fear of catching some mad caterpillar disease. Eyebrows which were now furrowed to make one big caterpillar and it was actually kind of funny, but Al was still in too much shock to laugh at the moment. His princess, his beloved star, was a man.

Now Alfred had never been one to explore much into his own sexuality, so this feeling of lust he got upon seeing the other man had him reeling inside his mind. This man was cute? Is that a word he could even associate with another male?? He wasn’t sure anymore, but his mind was definitely trying to work that idea into him. Before he knew it, there was a hand taking his own, leading him closer to the palace walls. Al vaguely remembered going in a door and down a few hallways, his hand warm from the firm hold the other male had on it. The feeling wasn’t all that unpleasant, though, even if part of his mind was telling him that it was strange.

Eventually, the prince and his surprise ‘Princess’ found themselves in a room with an all too familiar window along the back wall. A lavish bed was against the wall to the right of the window, and there was a comfortable looking seating area to the left, along with a few doors to what he could only assume were a bathroom and storage area. It was a room fit for royalty indeed, and had Alfred at a loss for words.

Those words were stolen away by the crushing silence of the room, and Alfred’s internal dread of having to explain to this man that he had been meaning to serenade a beautiful princess. Maybe the other man was secretly laughing at him every night and had already told the princess that some fool was trying to win her heart? His plan was falling apart before him, and it was only two weeks into September!

The silence was broken after another moment, a sigh escaping the pink, plump lips of-- Alfred really needed to stop his brain before it went any further.

“Are you just going to sit there gaping like a fish, or are you going to actually make good on all that sweet talk I’ve been hearing for the past two weeks?”

Alfred snapped out of his shock and immediately began to shake his head. His face turned bright red at the implications of that sentence. “I-I swear, I didn’t know that you-, I uh-”

For once in his life, he was truly at a loss for words. The message seemed to get through to the green eyed blonde, as his shoulders sagged and he raked a hand through his shaggy hair. The gesture made Alfred’s heart jump. What was causing that? Was he sick? Or was this man cuter than he had ever anticipated a man being? In either case, Alfred quickly decided that he did not like seeing the other look so dejected.

“M-My shining star, in the clouds above... may you shine forever with my love...” Al stuttered out the second half of his poem, “Were my li- lips to come to yours, the gods in heaven’s tears would pour. For is ever there was a love more pure... it was nothing more than myth and lore. Yet with my-my, uh, heart I give to you... a heaven’s gallery for us to view.”

The red that stained Alfred’s cheeks was reflected upon the cheeks of the other man, but there was something else. The smallest hint of as smile. It made Alfred’s heart melt just to be there to witness this moment. He didn’t even really know this man, yet he felt such a strong pull. Just who was he? Those green eyes met his own blue, and words spilled forth from those lips, the smile still evident.

“You are... quite the poet... mystery bard.”

Al held out a hand, a hint of a smile on his own lips. “My name is Alfred. Prince Alfred Ferrinas Jones of Atropa.”

“Ah, I see. You’re a month early for our meeting, you know.” The other man said, his eyes sparkling with interest. “I am Arthur. King Arthur Ignatius Kirkland of Belladonna.”

That had Alfred gaping like a fish again, before he buried his face in his hands. “Oh my gods-”

Arthur laughed that time, the sound making Al’s heart do that funny little flip again. Maybe the cold weather really was making him sick. Regardless, the blue eyed prince decided that he really liked King Arthur’s smile. He liked it so much, that he almost didn’t hear what the man said next.

“I am going to assume-”, Arthur began, “-that you were not serenading me on purpose... and that these songs were meant for my daughter...?”

Alfred didn’t respond, though silence could sometimes be just as damning as speaking. The sad smile Arthur wore again said it all, and Alfred wanted to make it go away. So he spoke blindly. “Actually... it was for you!”

He was most definitely lying, but he couldn’t stand to see such a sad face. Arthur merely raised an impressive eyebrow at him, his arms crossing. “Oh really?” He shook his head a moment. “I highly doubt that. I know the rumors going around about my daughter, my little angel, who happens to be a toddler. Her mother is- ah, no longer with us...”

Oh. Well shit. Alfred hadn’t seen that coming, but he supposed it did explain quite a few of the weird looks he had been getting around town when he spoke of wooing the local princess with his charms. What’s more, it explained why the rumors of the King being a miser and cranky about anyone being near his daughter were all about. He had just lost his wife... Alfred couldn’t imagine that kind of pain, so the fear of losing his little girl too... it must be so much to bear.

“Your majesty...” Alfred started to speak quietly. “I will admit- I came here because of the rumors, but... I think I found where the princess gets her incredible beauty from. It looks like she got it from her father.”

A small hint of pink washed over the King’s features, his eyes searching Alfred for any sort of lie, but they found none. Alfred was still flustered and unbelievably confused, but if he could make Arthur smile at him again, then his plan may not have been a total failure after all. What did it matter if he had fallen for a King instead?


End file.
